Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu received a vote of confidence from
most of his Likud ministers on Sunday for his plan to physically move
structures in the Ulpana outpost while strengthening the settlement
of Beit El.

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Netanyahu sought legal approval for the compromise from Attorney-
General Yehuda Weinstein on Sunday night. His approval will determine
whether Netanyahu will support legislation to legalize the outpost on
Wednesday or vigorously oppose it.

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“There would be no need for the bills if Weinstein approves the prime
minister’s solution,” a source close to Strategic Affairs Minister
Moshe Ya’alon said. “The Likud ministers will support Netanyahu’s
compromise. But if Weinstein does not approve, Netanyahu himself said
he would vote for the bills and almost all the Likud ministers would
too.”

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A source close to Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat said she
wanted to find a way for Ulpana residents to remain in their homes –
and while Livnat was skeptical, she hoped Netanyahu’s solution would
work.

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Likud officials said the party’s ministers were divided into three
camps. On the Right, Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister
Yuli Edelstein has said he would vote for the outpost bills even if
it would lead Netanyahu to fire him. On the Left, Government Services
Minister Michael Eitan, Intelligence Agencies Minister Dan Meridor,
and Ministerwithout- Portfolio Bennie Begin oppose the bills. In
between, the rest of the Likud ministers are waiting for direction
from Netanyahu and Weinstein.

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The ministers faced unprecedented pressure on Sunday from right-wing
groups inside Likud to vote for the outpost bills. Hawkish groups in
the party led by activists Moshe Feiglin, Effi Eitam, Gershon Mesika
and Shahar Stern, who have often sparred with each other, formed a
unified campaign to try to save the outpost.

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“A minister who does not support the outpost bill enables the
destruction of a community and acts against ethics, justice and the
values of Likud,” Feiglin said.

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“Such a minister would remove himself from the nationalist camp and I
would not vote for such a person.”

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Likud members received automated phone calls on Sunday asking whether
they would change their mind about voting in the next primary for
ministers who expressed support for Ulpana in the past, and now
changed their minds or left the country to avoid the vote.

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Regional Development Minister and Vice Premier Silvan Shalom is
abroad and Transportation Minister Israel Katz will be in Holland at
the time of the vote. Edelstein will return from the US in time for
the vote.

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Coalition chairman Ze’ev Elkin expressed doubt that Netanyahu would
fire ministers who vote with their conscience in favor of the bills.
He mocked the idea that the prime minister would fire half his
cabinet.

“The security and the future of Israel depend on reaching a
diplomatic agreement and not an agreement legalizing what is
illegal,” he said. “Only a diplomatic agreement can guarantee the
future of the overwhelming majority of Jews living in Judea and
Samaria.”

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By contrast, former opposition leader Tzipi Livni, once Mofaz’s
greatest rival in Kadima, posted scathing criticism of Netanyahu on
Facebook.

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“It should be taken for granted that court decisions are obeyed, even
by prime ministers, even if it means evacuating homes,” she
wrote. “Building 10 new homes for every one moved violates the idea
of two states. Sending more citizens to the settlements means more
people living with uncertainty about whether they will stay there
after a diplomatic agreement.